François Guizot

François Guizot
François Guizot by Jehan Georges Vibert (19th century)
17th Prime Minister of France
In office 18 September 1847 – 24 February 1848
Monarch	Louis Philippe I
Preceded by	Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Succeeded by	Jacque-Charles Dupont
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 29 October 1840 – 24 February 1848
Monarch	Louis Philippe I
Prime Minister	Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Preceded by	Adolphe Thiers
Succeeded by	Alphonse de Lamartine
Minister of Public Education
In office 6 September 1836 – 15 April 1837
Monarch	Louis Philippe I
Prime Minister	Louis-Mathieu Molé
Preceded by	Joseph Pelet de la Lozère
Succeeded by	Narcisse-Achille de Salvandy
In office 18 November 1834 – 22 February 1836
Monarch	Louis Philippe I
Prime Minister	Édouard Mortier Victor de Broglie
Preceded by	Jean-Baptiste Teste
Succeeded by	Joseph Pelet de la Lozère
In office 11 October 1832 – 10 November 1834
Monarch	Louis Philippe I
Prime Minister	Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Preceded by	Amédée Girod de l'Ain
Succeeded by	Jean-Baptiste Teste
Minister of Interior
In office 1 August 1830 – 2 November 1830
Monarch	Louis Philippe I
Prime Minister	Jacques Laffitte
Preceded by	Victor de Broglie
Succeeded by	Camille de Montalivet
Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Calvados
In office 23 June 1830 – 24 February 1848
Preceded by	Louis Nicolas Vauquelin
Succeeded by	Jean-Charles Besnard
Constituency	Lisieux
Personal details
Born	François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (1787-10-04)4 October 1787 Nîmes, France
Died	12 September 1874(1874-09-12) (aged 86) Saint-Ouen-le-Pin, France
Political party	Doctrinaire (1814–1830) Party of Resistance (1830–1848) Party of Order (1848–1852)
Alma mater	University of Geneva
Profession	Historian, teacher
Religion	Calvinism

François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (French: [fʁɑ̃swa pjɛʁ ɡijom ɡizo]; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator, and . Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848. A conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, he worked to sustain a constitutional monarchy following the July Revolution of 1830.

He then served the "citizen king" Louis Philippe, as Minister of Education, 1832–37, ambassador to London, Foreign Minister 1840–1847, and finally Prime Minister of France from 19 September 1847 to 23 February 1848. Guizot's influence was critical in expanding public education, which under his ministry saw the creation of primary schools in every French commune. But as a leader of the "Doctrinaires", committed to supporting the policies of Louis Phillipe and limitations on further expansion of the political franchise, he earned the hatred of more left-leaning liberals and republicans through his unswerving support for restricting suffrage to propertied men, advising those who wanted the vote to "enrich yourselves" (enrichissez-vous) through hard work and thrift.

As Prime Minister, it was Guizot's ban on the political meetings (called the Paris Banquets, which were held by moderate liberals who wanted a larger extension of the franchise) of an increasingly vigorous opposition in January 1848 that catalyzed the revolution that toppled Louis Philippe in February and saw the establishment of the French Second Republic.

Guizot was born at Nîmes to a bourgeois Protestant family. On 8 April 1794, when François Guizot was 6, his father was executed on the scaffold at Nîmes during the Reign of Terror. From then on, the boy's mother was completely responsible for his upbringing.